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Provincial police have found the body of a fisherman who drowned on Northern Light Lake this weekend.

Dennis Todd, 59, of Jefferson City, Mo., was found in the Trafalgar Bay area Sunday afternoon.

He was reported missing Thursday night, after another fisherman found a woman alone on an island. The woman said she had been fishing with Todd.

OPP said the woman was wearing a life jacket but Todd was not when the two were thrown from the boat.

Both were employees of Gunflint Lodge in Grand Marais, Minn. The lodge's owner, Bruce Kerfoot, described Todd as an "extremely skilled fisherman" who had worked for him for 27 years. He said he wasn't surprised to learn Todd had not been wearing a life jacket.

'Total, freak accident'

"The guides usually strap them to their seat, because they want to be more nimble," said Kerfoot. "Unfortunately, it's kind of the habit of guides not to wear vests unless they're in rough water conditions."

Original reports about the incident indicated that Todd and his passenger were thrown from the boat when it hit something underwater, but Kerfoot said that doesn't appear to be what happened.

OPP officers were assisted in the search by guides from Gunflint Lodge. (Supplied by OPP)

"The re-enactment looks like he lost the grip on his motor," said Kerfoot, whose employees assisted OPP with the initial search for Todd. "And that meant, at full throttle, it did a 90-degree turn, quickly, and the centrifugal force ejected both people from the boat.

"That was just one of those total, freak accidents."

Kerfoot said he plans to buy lighter, more comfortable life jackets to encourage guides to wear them whenever they're on the water.